BERG, ALBAN (b. Vienna, Austria, 9 Feb 1885; d. Vienna 24 Dec 1935)
The twentieth century music establishment's remarkable resistance to new operatic works can be seen in the fact that Berg's mould-breaking operas Wozzeck and Lulu are still commonly referred to as ΓÇ£modern" and even ΓÇ£contemporary."
In fact Wozzeck premièred in 1925 and its style was heavily influenced by that of Schönberg, with whom Berg studied from 1904 to 1910. Based on a play by Büchner, the opera deals with Berg's fundamental concern, the fate of the underprivileged individual in a world which lacks compassion.
Lulu, unfinished at the composer's death and produced in 1937, was another study in the destructiveness of human instincts. The words are Berg's own, after works by the German dramatist, Wedekind.
Unlike Wozzeck, which is constructed out of instrumental forms, Lulu is a dodecaphonic opera. Both are powerful and personal, strongly characterised and direct. The aggressive female sexuality which is the heart of Lulu has made it less universally attractive than Wozzeck, in which the relationships are more immediately acceptable. Nevertheless, both still have a place in the operatic repertoire and they represent a pivotal point between opera and music drama in the history of the form.
